An unexpectedly young and heavy gas giant exoplanet has been discovered

European astronomers discovered 310 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, a gas giant exoplanet around the star HD 114082 which looks like the Sun. At only 15 million years old, exoplanet HD 114082 b is the youngest of his kind that scientists have managed to determine both its size and mass.

Although it is about the diameter of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, its mass is curiously eight times that of Jupiter.

The above characteristics concern scientists, as they are not consistent with the hitherto widely accepted models of planet formation in the universe. A possible explanation for such a large mass of such a young gaseous planet is, according to the APE-MPE, that – unlike Jupiter – it has an unusually large solid and therefore heavy core.

The researchers, led by Olga Zakozai of the German Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg and the Central Astronomical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv, made the relevant publication in the astronomy and astrophysics journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics”. “Compared to currently accepted models, HD 114082 b is about two to three times denser for a young gas giant with a lifetime of only 15 million years,” Zakozai said.

The average density of the gaseous exoplanet in question is about twice that of Earth, which is truly remarkable given that our own planet is rocky, with an iron-nickel core, and does not consist of hydrogen and helium, the lightest elements in the universe. , of which Jupiter and the other gas giant exoplanets are almost entirely composed.

Astronomers from all over the world have discoveredi more than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets, of which about 15% are gas giants with masses at least comparable to Jupiter. To date, only three young gas giant exoplanets with ages up to 30 million years have been found.